Federal agencies are being tasked with expanding the conversion of career employees to at-will status, following an executive order that already stripped roughly 8,000 workers of civil service protections in early June. The Trump administration is working systematically to grow the number of positions that can be reclassified to Schedule Policy/Career, a designation that removes due-process rights, according to reporting from multiple sources familiar with the effort.
President Trump signed an executive order on June 3, 2026, that moved approximately 8,000 career federal employees into the new Schedule Policy/Career category, effectively converting them to at-will employment. Under the change, these workers lost their rights to advance notice of disciplinary action, an opportunity to respond to allegations, and the ability to appeal decisions before a third party—protections that have been standard for federal civil servants since the 19th century.
The expansion is now underway. The Office of Personnel Management is expected to submit expanded lists of jobs that can be reclassified to at-will employment to the White House by the end of September, according to sources with knowledge of the process. Several federal workers reported being told by their agencies that “we have to have more!” employees on conversion lists, and some agencies across government are facing a mandate to update and expand their registers of staff falling under the new policy.
To identify additional positions, OPM and federal agencies are using artificial intelligence to review job descriptions and determine which roles qualify as policy-influencing work, one federal worker briefed on the matter said. A senior administration official characterized the effort as a “thoughtful, collaborative process” with agencies to review previous submissions, update position descriptions, and identify additional roles for reclassification, though they stressed that no decisions have been finalized and that a subsequent executive order is not imminent.
The administration has previously estimated that as many as 50,000 federal workers could eventually lose job protections under the Schedule Policy/Career designation. When Trump’s initial order was signed in June, officials and outside observers were surprised that only 8,000 positions were affected, having expected the number to grow at some point. Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, was an original architect of the plan to convert large swaths of the federal workforce into at-will positions.
Research from the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit organization focused on federal workforce issues, found that at-will employment may shrink the talent pool for federal agencies and increase employee turnover rates, creating challenges for agencies to achieve their missions. The organization’s analysis, released in January 2026, cautioned that converting career employees to at-will status could undermine the expertise that the civil service is designed to develop.
The policy has generated significant opposition. A coalition of groups representing federal employees is suing over the reclassification, arguing it violates constitutional rights and undermines statutory protections. Critics contend that converting large swaths of employees to at-will status could make them vulnerable to political pressure, lead to firings based on loyalty rather than performance, and erode the nonpartisan character of the federal workforce. Trump administration officials have said Article II of the Constitution grants the president authority to remove federal workers without due process and that existing civil service law represents an “overcorrection” to historical abuses of power.
Sources
- NOTUS — reporting on Trump officials tasking agencies to find more workers to convert to at-will employment, with OPM expected to submit expanded lists by end of September; details on AI usage and agency mandates.
- Government Executive — confirmation that roughly 8,000 career federal employees were stripped of civil service protections on June 3, 2026.
- Federal News Network — details on the June 3 executive order converting 8,000 federal employees to Schedule Policy/Career status and estimates that 50,000 positions could eventually be affected.
- Partnership for Public Service — research finding that at-will employment may shrink the talent pool for federal agencies and increase employee turnover rates.
- New York Times — reporting that the Trump administration previously estimated as many as 50,000 federal workers could lose job protections.
